THEORIES OF ETHICS

Egoism Utilitarianism

Hedonism Contractualism

Naturalism and virtue theory Universalism

Deontological Ethics
Existentialism
Religion
Kantianism
1. Egoism
The idea that the best life is one in which I succeed in
getting what I want is called egoism.

I lead the best life when I get what I want , regardless of

how this affects others.

Conflict between the claims of altruism (obligations to

others) and egoism (self-interest).

 It is easy to see that I have reason to advance my career.

But what reason do I have to be honest when it is not in my
interest to do so?
2.Hedonism
-It is the belief that living is to enjoy life and the best life is the most
pleasurable one.

-It is closely associated with egoism.

-If we accept pleasure is the only natural good and this gives us reason to
make the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain are our main aim in
life.

-According to the Cyrenaics, the best life is one as full as possible of bodily
pleasures – food, drink, sex etc…

-Epicureans ( other form hedonism) ,who hold the finer things of life - good
wine, good food, good company, urbane literature, elegant dress and so on.

-For example, the pleasure of a good meal is in part dependent upon

appetite, which is to say hunger.
 3. Naturalism and Virtue theory
-Happiness is not mere contentment or adjustment with one’s lot, but the
exercise of healthy appetites, the imaginative and productive use of one’s
mental faculties, and the establishment of good personal, professional and
public relationships.- Aristotle.

-‘Natural’ means things that we are instinctively disposed towards and which
are well suited to our genetic makeup.

-The environment and lifestyle of people in New York, East African tribesman,
life of a Tibetan monk etc… are different according to the region.

-Unlike almost all other species like bears or tigers, human beings live in
different environments.

- The main difference between human being and animal is that only human
being can think about what he/she should eat and drink.

-
 Virtue theory
-Three attractions of virtue theory such as:
.
1.To describe some one as lazy or intelligent is to convey a
good deal of information about them.

2. Descriptions are determined not by our liking or disliking,

but by the facts of what they actually did.

3.There should be descriptive content of virtue words such as:

To call something nutritious is both to describe it and to
recommend it; to say that something is poisonous is to describe
it and to warn against it on the basis of that description.

For eg: plants are not nutritious to a lion, but they are to a
horse. It is because of the natural properties of each of them.
 Virtue theory continue…

-Virtue theory holds that generosity, bravery, kindness etc.. are

character traits that count as virtues, not because society
happen to approve them, but the facts of human nature like
vulnerability and dependence on others.

-Virtue means ‘excellence’ in possible way.

-According to Aristotle good life is one in which we use our

minds to make, and act, and think, in the best possible ways.
4.Existentialism
-The heart of existentialism is the doctrine of radical freedom.

-We often say things like ‘I cannot come because I must . . .’,
and the ‘cannot’ and ‘must’ signify necessities which constrain
our choices and our actions.

-It is not possible at every moment to choose any course of

action if only because previous decisions may themselves
have limited our present choices.

-To recognize our freedom to determine for ourselves what we

shall be places no constraints on possible choices. This means
that any choice might be made in good faith.
 Existentialism Continue….

-For example,
-To comprehension, a person of high intelligence has a direct
advantage over a person with limited intelligence, but this is
not true with regard to having faith.

-That is, when faith requires that he relinquish his

understanding, then to have faith becomes just as difficult for
the most intelligent person as it is for the person of the most
limited intelligence.
(Kierkegaard 1846, 1992, Vol. 1: 377)
5.Kantianism
-Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was one of the greatest
philosophers for all time
.
-He developed the idea of ‘the moral life’ precisely to provide
rational answers to problems.

-Kant says “what is important is the purpose to which wealth

and talent are put”.

-The intention behind an action (what Kant calls ‘will’), rather

than the success or failure of that action, that is all important.
 Kantianism continue…
For Example 1 : Someone works for an international charity, collecting
money and organizing supplies of medicines for refugee camps. In the
wake of a great disaster, she makes a Herculean effort and manages to
fund and to dispatch a massive quantity of much needed medicine. But
through no fault of hers, the storage facilities fail, the medicines become
contaminated.

Unfortunately they are nonetheless administered in ignorance of their poor

condition, and the result is that the death rate in the camps rises to a level
far higher than it would have done if no medicines at all had been sent.
This is of course a great tragedy. But even should the charity worker feel
guilty, she would not actually be responsible for this terrible outcome.
 Kantianism continue…
Example 2 : Kant makes same point in reverse kind of case.
-Suppose I see someone I regard as my enemy crossing a
lonely road on a wild night when I am driving home, and try to
run him down.
- As luck would have it, the sound of my sudden acceleration
alerts him to a falling tree and he leaps into the ditch just in
time to avoid being crushed beneath it.
- By this curious route, my evil intention has saved his life.
Nevertheless, this good outcome mitigates or reduce none of
the wickedness of my action.
6. Utilitarianism (Teleological approach)
-Utilitarian theory is formulated by great philosophers like
Jeremy Bentham ,James Mill and John stuart Mill.

-According to this philosophy end justifies means.

-It says “one can add up all the positive aspects of a decision ,
contrast them with all the negative aspects and make decision
on the grounds of producing the greatest happiness for the
greatest number of people”.

-The aim of this theory is not the pleasure of single individual

but the greatest good for greatest number of people.
 Utilitarianism continue…
-Two type of Utilitarianism such as: Act Utilitarianism &
Rule Utilitarianism.
Act utilitarianism :- An act is morally right if and only if it
maximizes utility of an action.
-The benefits and harms are calculated for every person who is
going to be affected by the proposed action.
Rule Utilitarianism: - An act is morally right only when it
conforms to the rule which maximizes utility of every one.
-Act Utilitarianism ‘tends to judge each act in isolation.’ while
Rule utilitarianism judges an act in light of a rule which takes
into account collective interests of all in all circumstances.
7. Contractualism
-Understands principles of right conduct as the object of a
rational agreement.

-Contractualism sees the agreement on principles governed by

a moral ideal of equal respect.
Example:
-Some people derive their livelihood from fishing, but the stock
of fish in the lake around which they live is declining.

-The only way to preserve the fish stock in the longer term is
the introduction of individual quotas, i.e. a limit on how many
fish each fisherman may take from the lake
 Contractualism continue…..
-This way the future of everyone will be secured. The
alternative is that everyone loses their livelihood.

-By following the quota allocated to me I will suffer an

immediate drop in income.

-If others break the contract, the lake gets fished out, but I am
not a special loser.

-if others keep to their quotas while I break mine, the fish stocks
will be preserved to my long term benefit as well as to theirs,
but unlike others, I will not suffer an immediate drop in income.

-So, my best strategy is to ignore mine regardless of whether

other fishermen ignore or observe their quotas.
-When no one is ready to keep quota leads to the collapse of
the fishing stock .
8. Religious experience and religious practice
-People are sometimes brought to religious belief by a sense of
having been miraculously delivered from some disaster .

-The philosophical ‘problem of evil’ assumes that what happens

to us is evidence for and against God as it would be against
someone in a courtroom.

-Religious experience is not to be thought of along the same

lines as gathering evidence for and against scientific
explanations.

-Religions lay down rules for a morally good life.

-The aim of religion is not to make men and women good or

successful, but to bring them into a relationship with the divine.
-Religion as a ‘transforming power of otherworldliness’.
9.Universalism in Ethics
Universalism in ethics means that ethical principles are
principles for everybody. It speaks about obligations for
everybody, define rights for everybody, list virtues for
everybody.

This principle says everybody will prescribe or recommend

the same for everybody (same obligations, same rights, same
virtues and so on).

For example, discussions of universal human rights

emphasize not only that all humans have rights, but that they
all have the same rights.
Universal Principles/ Golden Rules

"Do unto others as you would that they

should do unto you".

Others are prohibitions rather than injunctions, such as

"Do not do unto others what you would

not have them do unto you.
 10. Deontological Ethics
Deontological approaches to ethical decision making are
also called "duty" ethics or the "humanitarian" approach.

Deontological systems are based on the idea that human

beings must treat other human beings with respect and
dignity.

In this case, ethical behavior is judged on whether the action

violates human rights. The actions themselves are treated as
"right" or "wrong.
Examples:
1.Declaration of Independence
2.Choosing not to disseminate false information because that
would constitute an act of lying which is "wrong."
 Deontological Ethics

Problems with this approach:

Which human rights are deemed more

important?

As society evolves over time, will norms of

basic human rights change?

Blindly following this approach could lead to

considerable harm.